Free Tax Filing Options – TurboTax

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According to a statement made by the IRS yesterday, taxpayers can being filing their taxes 2014 returns on Jan. 20.

In spite of a last-minute tax law that as passed by Congress and and signed by President Obama, tax-filing season will begin on time.

Early in December, a bill was passed by Congress that extended more than 50 tax breaks that expired at the beginning of the year. This law has extended these tax breaks through the year’s end, making it possible for people to claim these on their taxes 2014 returns. This bill was signed into law by President Obama on Dec. 10.

In years past, tax season has been delayed by last-minute tax laws that were passed by Congress. According to John Koskinen, the IRS Commissioner, this will not be the case this year.

In a statement, Koskinen said that the IRS has reviewed the late changes to tax law and found that there was nothing to prevent them from testing and updating their systems.

Every year, millions of Americans file their returns during the first several weeks of the tax season in order to expedite their tax returns.

The IRS says that in recent years, it has been able to issue the majority of tax returns within just 21 days if these returns were e-filed through a system like TurboTax. According to the IRS, filing electronically is the quickest way to get a tax return.

Kosinken also told reporters that refunds could be delayed as the result of agency budget cuts. In this recent statement, however, he did not estimate the time frame for this delay.

Approximately 150 million individual tax returns will be processed by the IRS this year. The average refund this year was about $2,800.

Electronic tax filing had been originally scheduled to begin on January 22. The nine-day extension is a result of the changes in tax law which took effect on January 1. The American Taxpayer Relief Act (ATRA) was the result of the “fiscal cliff” tie between the president and the house.

IRS Form W-2 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The IRS is getting set for the year’s activities by upgrading its systems to suit the new tax payment procedure. IRS is now updating their forms and setting new programs to make this successful. According to the IRS, the updates should be ready to serve Americans from January 30. Other documents for treating cases such as residential energy credit claims, general business credits and depreciation of property will be available towards the end of February when their updates should be completed.

The acting commissioner of IRS, Steven T. Miller further reassured the public that this year’s tax electronic filing will soon kick off. The shift in date is to make sure that everything is properly done.

This year, IRS hopes to process all tax returns electronically. Last year, they processed more than 80% tax returns electronically. Even the paper type will not begin until after January 29.

Miller concluded by saying that electronic filling of tax returns is the most convenient for tax payers.

As the tax season approaches, it’s time learn about all of the new features included in the #1 tax preparation software, TurboTax 2011. Whether you have real estate investments, rental properties, mutual funds or just a simple tax return; TurboTax has a version to fit your needs.

What’s new with TurboTax 2011?
New features include, but are not limited to, expert advice via online chat or by phone. They also include a guide to take you step by step through your return, and make it easy to navigate to any section.

Two more features that can make your return much easier, especially if you used TurboTax in the past is the ability to easily import last year’s data, and secondly if you work for a participating company, you can simply import your 1099 and W2 information.

Deduction Finder
TurboTax covers all available deductions and the TurboTax Premier, Deluxe and Home & Business versions will guide you through every potential deduction for your return, so you will not have to worry about missing something.

Audit Risk Meter
TurboTax offers an Audit Risk Meter beginning with the Deluxe version, that will let you know if you are a high risk and makes suggestions for changes you can make to reduce your risk of being audited.

Free E-File
Included in the cost of its software, turbo Tax has free federal e-filing which makes filing your return fast and you could have your refund in as little as eight days. Many consumers have their refund directly deposited into a checking account or you can choose to have TurboTax deposit your return to a prepaid Visa.

Investments & TurboTax Premier Edition
If you have bought and/or sold a good many investments in 2011 or own rental properties, The Premier Edition includes some helpful features for you that could be worth the extra money, especially if you own rental property. It can also guide you through all of the tax implications and the depreciation calculations can be indispensable.